Doctor Who star Jenna Louise Coleman says she’s not trying to fill Karen Gillan’s shoes and is on her own “journey”

Fans of Doctor Who will of course know that Karen Gillan left the show and her role as sidekick Amy Pond during the hit show’s last series…

And taking on the role of the Doctor’s new companion, Clara Oswin, is former Emmerdale star Jenna Louis Coleman, who says that she has no intention of trying to step into Karen’s shoes on the show.

Speaking to Entertainment Weekly about the role, Jenna said, “I watched the five episodes that went out recently as we were filming.

“It was strange to watch their goodbye as I was doing the beginning – and interesting to see where it left the Doctor as well.”

And of playing Clara, who we’ll meet in the show’s Christmas special The Snowmen – which will air on the BBC on Christmas Day – Jenna said, “There’s no way to consider [being Clara] other than something totally different…

“You fill somebody else’s shoes by trying to do the same thing – and I don’t think that’s a healthy way to look at it.

“It’s a whole new story, it’s a whole new character.

“It changes the Doctor and you’ve got to go on that journey and also go on your own journey with it, as well.”

Jenna went on to say that she’d been pleased when Karen contacted her to congratulate on landing the role, saying, “[Karen] sent me a message. She texted me.

“I was pacing around, trying to figure out a scene and I checked my phone and I just had a message from her saying kind of ‘Good luck’ and ‘You’re going to knock it out the park’.

“Then she told me to eat at Woods restaurant in Cardiff [where Doctor Who is filmed]. That was her Cardiff tip.”

Here’s a reminder of the show’s trailer for The Snowmen in which we see Matt Smith – who of course plays the Doctor – introducing Jenna…

And here’s the BBC’s synopsis for The Snowmen…

Christmas Eve 1892, and the falling snow is the stuff of fairytales.

When the fairytale becomes a nightmare and a chilling menace threatens Earth, an unorthodox young governess, Clara, calls on the Doctor for help. But the Doctor is in mourning, reclusive and determined not to engage in the problems of the universe. As old friends return, will the Doctor really abandon humankind or will he fight to save the world – and Christmas – from the icy clutches of this mysterious menace?